Oil can opener drip collector

ABSTRACT

For use in automobile service stations, a collector for can opening spouts, which includes a funnel, shelf means having seats to hold the can opening and pouring spout tools, in close proximity to the mouth of the funnel, said seats having through holes so that drops of oil from the tools will drip through the funnel to a collector vessel positioned beneath it, and a mounting structure holding the shelf and the funnel together and adapting the same for attachment to a wall surface or placement on a horizontal support surface for convenient positioning in a filling station.

United States Patent Vazquez et al.

[54] OIL CAN OPENER DRIP COLLECTOR {72] Inventors: Eugenio A. Vazquez; Manuel Barcia, both of 2741 S.W. 1st Street, Miami, Fla. 33135 221 Filed: Nov. 3, 1969 21 Appl.No.: 873,594

[52] US. Cl 141/106, 141/332, 141/340 [51] Int. Cl. ..B67c 11/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..141/105-107, 331-334,

[151 3,654,969 [451 Apr.l1,1972

Primary ExaminerEdward J. Earls Attomey-John Cyril Malloy [57] ABSTRACT For use in automobile service stations, a collector for can opening spouts, which includes a funnel, shelf means having seats to hold the can opening and pouring spout tools, in close proximity to the mouth of the funnel, said seats having through holes so that drops of oil from the tools will drip through the funnel to a collector vessel positioned beneath it, and a mounting structure holding the shelf and the funnel together and adapting the same for attachment to a wall surface or placement on a horizontal support surface for convenient positioning in a filling station.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 1 1 I972 INVENTORS EUGENIO A.VAZQUEZ MANUEL BARCIA ATTORN EY.

OIL CAN OPENER DRIP COLLECTOR In the past, as is perhaps well known, the can opening spouts used as tools for pouring brake fluid and automobile transmission oil have created somewhat of a problem in filling station locations by reason of the fact that the portion of the tool which extends into the can, while it is being opened, comes in contact with the fluid of the container, so that, when the pouring tool is removed, there will be several drops which ultimately fall from the tool onto the apron or floor of the filling station. This creates a somewhat hazardous condition by reason of the fact that, over a period of time, these drops make the surface slippery and not tidy.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a can opening spout and drip collector for use in filling stations which is adapted to be either wall mounted or placed on a suitable horizontal support surface, preferably adjacent a supply of fluid cans, such as brake fluid or oil.

It is another object of this invention to provide a can opening spout and drip collector for holding the tools used for opening cans and which includes a rack with seats for the tools in close relation to the mouth of a collector funnel with an exit opening above a collector can to collect the drops from the funnel.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved one-piece tool holder which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and formed of sheet material and which is well adapted for the purposes for which it is intended as is more apparent from the following description.

It is another object of this invention to provide a useful holder for the tools used in opening containers commonly found in filling stations and which holder is adapted to collect oil drippings and which is easy to clean by reason of an open faced construction.

In accordance with these and other objects which have become apparent hereinafter the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of the can opening spout in relation to a collector can;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the collector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view in cross section taken on the plane indicated by the line 4-4 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view, which has been partly broken away for illustrative purposes, and illustrating an alternative embodiment of the collector.

Referring to the drawings where in like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, the can opening spout drip collector is generally designated by the numeral 12. It is seen to be composed of several major elements: a) a funnel 14, b) a shelf means or rack 16 arranged to extend into the mouth opening of the funnel as seen in top plan and adapted to cradle can opening spouts l8, and c) standard means to orient the shelf means in drip relation to the funnel mouth. As indicated in FIG. 1, the standard means comprises a zone designated by the numeral 22 on an upstanding abutment plate means 24 extending upwardly from the upper portion of the funnel. This plate means 24 includes through holes 26 and 28 whereby the collector 12 is adapted to be mounted to a support surface, such as a wall 30 and arranged with the exit opening 32 of the spout of the funnel 12 above the open mouth 34 of a drip collecting container 36.

It will be helpful to consider first the embodiment of FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4. In this embodiment, the funnel 14, shelf means 16 and standard are formed of a single piece of material, preferably sheet form metal, but, also, adapted to be formed of an integral plastic configuration. In this embodiment, it is seen, particularly in FIG. 4, that the shelf means 16 is composed of a double thickness of metal, i.e., an upper portion 38 and a lower portion 40 with the bend line or fold 42 constituting an outer or terminal distal edge of the shelf means and with the opposite shelf means edge being turned into a common vertical plane and having, extending upwardly, the plate means 24 and, extending downwardly, the rear portion of the funnel 14 which is preferably somewhat flattened along the medial zone as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, so as to provide a generally vertical plane of abutment to rest against a support surface such as 30. It is also seen in FIG. 1 that the lip 46 of the entrance mouth 48 of the funnel is cut away so that the same diverges downwardly from the intersection of the lips as at 49 and 50 with the shelf means, so that the interior of the funnel is visible as seen in elevation in FIG. 1 and access may be had for cleaning the funnel and, also, for placing opened oil cans in it in an inverted drain position. The outermost flanking ends of the funnel in the preferred construction seen in FIG. 1, which are designated by the numerals 52 and 54, are mated together by suitable means forming the seam line 56. Referring to the shelf means 16, a plurality of seats with through holes designated by the numerals 58, 60, 62 and 64 are provided, these seats being sized to receive the cutting portion of the conventional can opening spouts employed in filling stations. Additionally, the shelf means may be provided with a seat or hole 66 for passage of the line 68 of a funnel and line combination 20, often used to drain transmission oil.

In operation, the drip collector is mounted to a support surface 30 and the can opening spouts are arranged in the seats, as is the funnel and line combination 20. After each use, the above items are returned to their respective seat on the shelf means, and any drops of oil will under the influence of gravity drip into the open mouth of the funnel l4 and through the exit opening 32 into the collector vessel 36, thereby solving the problem of drops of oil on the apron of a filling station.

Referring to the embodiment of FIG. 5, it will be seen that the same elements are common to this embodiment, namely, the funnel 14', shelf means or rack 16', and the standard 22'; however, in this embodiment it is seen that the standard includes a support means differing from the structure referred to above in the embodiment of FIG. 1, which include the apertures or holes 26 and 28 for mounting screws 26 and 28 to secure the collector to the support surface 30. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, it is seen that the supporting means generally designated by the numeral 72 includes a foot 74 comprising means to receive the can or vessel 36 and a leg 76 extending from the rearward portion 78 of the funnel downwardly a length sufficient to position the can beneath the funnel. In the preferred embodiment the leg is offset, as by the portion 80, to permit clearance for the lip 82 of the can so that it may be positioned as indicated in FIG. 5 with the opening at the bottom 70' of the funnel 12' within the mouth 84 of the vessel 36'. As indicated in FIG. 5, the collector of this embodiment may also be formed of a single piece of material in which the vertically extending portion, including the standard and plate means 24, is of a double thickness substantially along the height of the collector above the funnel. The material of the collector, which is folded upon itself, comprises the plate 24' of double thickness with the fold line being at the top and indicated by the numeral 86, and with the offset diverging somewhat from the plane of the rear wall 88 of the funnel to the leg 72, this backwall being indicated by the dotted lines of FIG. 5. It is seen that this embodiment of FIG. 5 is adapted to be floor-supported or supported at a convenient location adjacent the oil supplies on a horizontal surface.

Having described this collector, what is claimed is:

l. A can opening spout holder and drip collector for use in supporting can opening spouts of the type conventionally used for opening and pouring oil from closed containers, comprising:

a funnel, including a body having an enlarged mouth and a narrowed exit opening beneath the mouth; shelf means, formed as an integral continuation of said funnel above said mouth in a generally horizontal plane, having a plurality of through openings, adapted to cradle the can opening spouts above the confines of said enlarged mouth;

means to support said funnel and shelf means above a support surface whereby a drip collector vessel is adapted to be positioned beneath said funnel to collect drops of oil from the can opening spouts, said means to support being formed as an integral continuation of said shelf means whereby said funnel, shelf means and means to support are integral to provide a one-piece construction;

said support means including plate means, and means are provided to interconnect said plate means to a vertical support surface;

said funnel including a rear wall portion coplanar with said plate means, defining therewith a surface of abutment;

said shelf means comprising a single piece of material which is doubled back upon itself from a fold line, spaced inwardly of said surface of abutment to provide a double thickness, the upper thickness being upturned at said surface of abutment providing a portion comprising said plate means, the lower thickness being downwardly turned at said surface of abutment and including a depending portion of an enlarged lateral dimension defining wing-like flanks with opposed laterally extending marginal edges being rolled toward one another, outwardly of said abutment surface, with said edges in abutting relation to define said funnel body, and seam means interconnecting said edges.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the support means includes a horizontally extending foot beneath the funnel in spaced relation.

3. The device as set forth in claim 2 wherein the support means includes a vertical leg portion interconnecting the funnel and the foot.

4. The device as set forth in claim 3 wherein offset means are provided interconnecting the funnel and the leg, said olfset means providing a clearance beneath the funnel body and the leg to receive the open mouth of a collector vessel intermediate the funnel body and the leg. 

1. A can opening spout holder and drip collector for use in supporting can opening spouts of the type conventionally used for opening and pouring oil from closed containers, comprising: a funnel, including a body having an enlarged mouth and a narrowed exit opening beneath the mouth; shelf means, formed as an integral continuation of said funnel above said mouth in a generally horizontal plane, having a plurality of through openings, adapted to cradle the can opening spouts above the confines of said enlarged mouth; means to support said funnel and shelf means above a support surface whereby a drip collector vessel is adapted to be positioned beneath said funnel to collect drops of oil from the can opening spouts, said means to support being formed as an integral continuation of said shelf means whereby said funnel, shelf means and means to support are integral to provide a onepiece construction; said support means including plate means, and means are provided to interconnect said plate means to a vertical support surface; said funnel including a rear wall portion coplanar with said plate means, defining therewith a surface of abutment; said shelf means comprising a single piece of material which is doubled back upon itself from a fold line, spaced inwardly of said surface of abutment to provide a double thickness, the upper thickness being upturned at said surface of abutment providing a portion comprising said plate means, the lower thickness being downwardly turned at said surface of abutment and including a depending portion of an enlarged lateral dimension defining wing-like flanks with opposed laterally extending marginal edges being rolled toward one another, outwardly of said abutment surface, with said edges in abutting relation to define said funnel body, and seam means interconnecting said edges.
 2. The device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the support means includes a horizontally extending foot beneath the funnel in spaced relation.
 3. The device as set forth in claim 2 wherein the support means includes a vertical leg portion interconnecting the funnel and the foot.
 4. The device as set forth in claim 3 wherein offset means are provided interconnecting the funnel and the leg, said offset means providing a clearance beneath the funnel body and the leg to receive the open mouth of a collector vessel intermediate the funnel body and the leg. 